Following nearly destroying our planet, the relatives have become allies’: a thrilling audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase was almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was clear. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting civilization into total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel element to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another and go against one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn